8/11/2019 Soulbook, 3, Fall 1965

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SOULBOOK

8/11/2019 Soulbook, 3, Fall 1965

2/84

cover desi gn by gl enn xnyl es ;

front

cover photo by charl es

robi nson

back

cover

photo

by charl es dani el dawson

8/11/2019 Soulbook, 3, Fall 1965

3/84

i cI Y

e .

econow

soul

nti - i mperi al i si n

P

.

o

.

box

1097

berkel ey,

t%

i f

.

(raci st

u

.

s

.

8/11/2019 Soulbook, 3, Fall 1965

4/84

150 contents

CONTENTS

bobb

haml ton

151 THATSWATTS

HAPPENN

ch,-i kh-anta

diop

154

AFRCA,

CHNA

ANDTHEUS

kann

m

f r oe

m

n164

.

THEMAN

FROML N

:

BROTHERFRANTT

FANON

carol

freeman 178 DOESUS

?

dona l d

freeman 181 THEFACADE

OF

BOURGEOS

DEMOCRACY

REECT

NOTES

183

poetry by

ai ms

cusai re, marvi n

e . j aekmon,

k

. Wl l i amkgosi tsi l o,

rol l and snel l i ngs,

gl enn

myl es,

harol d

foster,

erni e

al l on,

ronal d stone,

carol f reeman.

k

w

k

g

o

s

i t s i l e 199

PARTNERSI NW=EACSM

harry

haywood 203

THE

CRISIS

OF

NEGRO

REFORMSM

AND

THE

GROWTHOFNATONALISM

a l f r ed

o pona 208THE

PUERTORICAN

REVOLUTON

a l f r ad

o p e na 214 LAREVOLUTON

PUERTORRIQUENA

e

. al

l e

n

reemn

220

NOTES

ONAMESBOGGS AMERICAN

REVOLUTON

t i i h i l obstat I ' rantz

Fanon

(1

,

. I , .

r 7 .

)

C ' t ' i , E i

; r

dc' pufcOas

I mpr i matur ~. ~

, , ~

Robe ' . ~' ~' 1 '

i s

` j ; ;

A

M

)

~~~71I 5' P

i 1

. S 1 (

Ot 1S

Sales and

di stributi on

manager : hobby

seae

8/11/2019 Soulbook, 3, Fall 1965

5/84

THATS

WTTS

HAPPENI NG

Those bl ackmn

who

t a l k about

Savi ng

Ameri ca by

maki ng i t

l i v e

up t o i t s

dream

- - - -

andthese

are

not the

bl ack

bourgeoi si e cwrati of

whi ch

I

speak,

but

the

wel l - i nt ent i oned

bl ack

radi cal s

- - -

remnd

m

of a nai ve

womn

who

mght pl ead

t o

t he raveni ng r api st

t o

al l ow

her

t o dress the

wounds and

scratches

he acqui red

i n hi s at t ack on her - - - not

r eal i zi ng

that her

assai l ant

w l l onl y

catch

hi s

breath

i n order t o be

more

thorough i n fucki ng

her

.

Whi te

Ameri ca

i s

wagi nga

nohol ds

barred war agai nst

t he bl acks i n

thi s

country

and

agai nst

col ored

peopl e al l over the worl d I t i s, at l east ,

f ool i sh t o

concern

onesel f about

the wel fare

of

someone who

has

hi s

f oot

on

your

throat

.

Af ter

400

years

I

shoul d t hi nk that

at l east the more aware andart i cul ate

bl ack

mnwoul d see that t he Ameri can

Deam

i s

t he bl ackman' s Nghtmare Ti me

has

run

out f or Bl ack

preachers andbl ack p ie t i s t s

The

bat t l es

bei ng f ought

i n

Ameri ca are

not economc ones, not agai nst

poverty,

Ameri ca

i s

engaged i n the

earl y stages of a

bl at ant

race war . Those Bl ack l e f t i s t s

who

s t i l l nurture

that

i ntel l ec tual l y expensi ve i l l u s i o n

of bl ack

and

whi te uni t y agai nst

some economc

bugbear

( c api t al i sm

need

onl y l ook

honestl y at

Ameri ca' s

cl andest i ne

a l l y i n t hi s

st r uggl e,

The Sovi et Uni on. TheRussi ans are

as

' whi t e'

as any Mssi ssi ppi

peck-

erwood

vi s-a-vi s

t he

yel l ow

p e r i l , Red

Chi na

The

whi temn i n Ameri ca,

and

Europe

too f or that matter, has become so acl i mati zed

t o bul l yi ng

andoppressi ng

and

terrori zi ng

non-whi tes, and

t o t he acqui escence

and, much too of t en, t he

col laborati on

___othose he

tyranni zes,

that he

i s genui nel y shocked,

bewl dered,

and

even

hurt

when

he

i s

t ol d,

stop

I ' v e had

enough

.

He was

shocked

by the

l ong

hot Summr of 1954, by Spri ngf i el d, Chi cago,

and

Los

Angel es

of

1965 .

8/11/2019 Soulbook, 3, Fall 1965

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152

hamltm

Punks,

,

sai d Boy Wl ki ns

of

t a

. 4 P ' a t i o

nal Assoc: a t i oa

f or

the Advancement

of

Certai n

?ewe-

uni ni _agi nat i vol y

.

.

l i k e

a cl acked record

W

depl ore

.

. . .

sad

Farmr

J im

f the Congress on R tual

E

t : a l i t

, not too

l ong

returned from

hi s

mssi on

as of f i c i al ni gger to

Af ri ca to

undo

Mal col ms work . Wth

al l

force

necessary .

. .

.

. sai d

Ki ngf i sh

Mart i n - - at

l east he was the most consi st ent ,

for

he had

reassured chuck that

hi s posi ti on was that

anybl ood t o be

shed

i n the

pursui t of

TheAmricanD-am,

woul dbe ours

The

Governor

of

Cal i forni a,

the

Myor and

the

Chi ef

of Pol i ce of Los Angel es

scroamed, Were

are

the

responsi bl e Negro

Leaders ?

They

were

there

and

h

re

whi tey

- - - -

you were

j ust

_ t _ o

i

hysteri cal

to

h

e

a r

and

s e e

them

The

U

S

News

andWorl d Report

,

the

l i beral

N

_Y

. Post

,

The Tms

, the

whi te press ad

na

useu_m_ attri buted the

revol t i n Los

Angel es to cri mnal s and

thugs

Those

are

t he

presses

who

eul ogi ze

the Boston

Tea

Party,

the

French

Underground,

and

the

sl ave upri si ngs

sparked by Spartaeus i n

Rom

The bl acks i n

Los

Angel es,

Cal i forni a

were

not

i rresponsi bl e

They

were

ti red

of whi te

bul l -shi t .

The bl ack bourgeoi si e

were s i l ent

because

they

hadbeen

so

busy' bei ng

responsi bl

t o whi te

f ol ks that they, by

def i ni t i on,

coul d

not be re

sponsi bl e

to

bl acks

- - th

,

y' ve nevc

r bi en be f , ) ra :

possi bl y amdst the soeal l ed

chaos

a qui et

voi ce

t -D ld

them

hey

were

bl ack too

; possi bl y

andvery l i kel y

they

knew

bettor

than

to speak

out

on

the si de of whi tey

Dur non l eaders wore

safe

and

secure

on

th-

East

Ccc

st

and

i n

the South

.

My

onl y

regret

i s

that

so

mny

bl acks were

ki l l ed, but

i t

has al ways

been that

way

Hasn' t i t ? But

there

are

new

: ,: or : ;

gr- )whrg

by I u, _p2

andbaunds i r

.

t

: . ;

poych_; 7 us,

the

bl ack

masses

;

they

are

Nat

Turner,

Ci nque,

Marcus

Garvey, Robert

Wl l i azzas,

Mal col atx

X,

and

the

Deacons

Keep

on

pushi ng

8/11/2019 Soulbook, 3, Fall 1965

7/84

C'mon, chi l d,

don' t

mnd

da

uagoo .

j ackmon 153

Burn,

Baby Burn

Ti red

G t

al l

dat

motherfucki n pl uck,

Si ck an Ti red,

G t dean

guns

too,

we ' on' t

gi ve

Ti red of

bei ng

a fuck

Si ck an

7l red

Burn,

baby, burn,

Cook outta si ght

- -

Lost

.

Fi neburgs,

Lost

i n

tho

Wi tefront,

wl derness

Wneburgs,

Of

whi te a

meri ca .

Bl ackf rort - -

Are themsses asses

?

Burn,

baby,

burn,

Cool .

I n t i me

Sai d the

master

t o

the sl ave,

Noprobl em Don' t

rob an

steal ,

H

;

I ' l l

bo

your

dri vi n

wheel

.

w l l

l earn

.

Cool .

And

ho wheel edus i nto

350 years of

bl ack

madnoss,

To

hog guts, conkedhai r, covadi s,

To bl eachi ng

cream

and

uncl o

thomas,

To

WATTS

To

tho

streets,

by

To

the KILL

marvi n jackmn

BOMNMM. .

. .

.

2

honkcys

gone

.

MOTHERFUCK

the

pol i ce

And

parkor' s si ster,

too,

BLACK

PEOPLE

Ti red,

Si ck

an

t i red,

Ti red

of

bei ng

Si ck an

ti red

- -

Burn,

baby,

burn

. . . .

.

. .

.

.

Don' t l eave deco boss rags,

8/11/2019 Soulbook, 3, Fall 1965

8/84

154di op

a~r3~sa

cz ~ M

*AbLOI E50

u_s

by

chei kh

. anta

Mop ( t ransl at ed

free

the f rench by

PNLBM)

A thot_gh Chei kh-Anta Dop

i s

not wel ' known i n Af rcameri ca, he

, more

then any

i i vi , i g

Bl ack

i ntel l ectual

(for

that

matter

:nybcdy,, .

developed

approaches to, and theori es

of Bl ack

hi story .

Brother

U op

has

a

theory

that there

i s

a

basi c di vi si on

of

peopl es i nto

2 ki nds : the

Southerners (or

Negr o- Af r i cans) ,

and the Aryans . Each groupi ng a

cul tural

out l ook based cn

response

to

cl i mate,

the

di f f erence between

them

bei ng

th-t

Aryans have had a

h- rsher

cl i m~~e

.

Accordi ng

to

Dop the Aryans have developed pat ri archal

systems

ch~ract4ri zed

by the sup-

pressi on ol omen and

a

t endency

towrd

i ndi yl dual i sm

materi al i sm

and

pessi msm

The

Southern-

ers, on the other

hand,

he

sees

as

possessi ng ~, matri archal system The

womn

are much

f reer,

the soci al system i s col l ecti vi st and

opti msti c

i n i ts ori ent , ti on

towards l i f e .

As f or t he hi stori cal

bpsi s of

thi s

vi ew Dop has argued,

wth a

consi derabl e

amount

of

evi -

ence, that anci ent

Egypt i ns not onl y

a BackAfri can ci vi l i zati on,

but

that al so

European

ci -

vi l i zati on

i s a mere

deri vat i ve

of that

great soci ety

.

I n a

word,

hi s

wi ti ngs

on

thi s subj ect

are

at

l east

outrageousl y provocat i ve,

and

at

the most bl ; ,

tant l y

revol ut i onary

.

W do not gi ve thi s background to

Brother

J i op' s

cri ent~t i on

i n order to

endorse hi s vi ews ;

on the cont r, ry, we

have

reservat i ons about some of hi s concl usi ons,

and hi s emphasi s

on

cl i mate

as a determnant of

hi story, but

we

do

know

that

hi s

hi stori c^ f i ndi ngs vi s-a-vi s

pharoahoni c

Egypt

and i ts

rel at i onshi p

to

Af ri ca

and

Europe have

i mmense credence . The mai n

reason

we

have

summari zed hi s t heori es i s to poi nt

out hs excel lent i ntel l ectual and

pro-Bl ack credent i al s

so

that

we can

show why

we

feel Brother

Di op

i s

etm rr ~nt l y

qual i f i ed

t o

explan

many

of the

re-

l at i cnshi ps between

the

Peopl es Republ i c

of Chi na,

the emergi ng

African

nati ons, and

thpt

great

guardi an of the color

l i ne,

the

Uni ted States

of

Ameri ca .

- - The

Edi tors

- -

8/11/2019 Soulbook, 3, Fall 1965

9/84

d . ~p

155

Chi na, i n

expl odi ng

two

Urani um235 bombs,

has

j ust proved

that s he

i s

cap-

abl e

of

havi ng

access t o

thermonucl ear

power

by

her own

means .

Several

years

are

yct

necessary,

perhaps

l ess than

t en,

i n order

f or

her

to consti t ut e

an

op-

er ati onal

arsenal

.

Al so,

Chi na

of

today

i s

comparabl e

t o the

U

S S.

R

of

1926

t o 1038

;

she

necdsto

bui l d

her economy,

t o

consol i date

her pol i t i cal

regi me,

and

al so

her

t echni cal

capabi l i t i es

. I n

these

undertaki ngs she

must

shun

war

at

any

pri ce

i n

order

t o gai n

preci ous

years so

that

she

myacqui re

t he

i nvul nerabi l i t y

of nucl ear

powers .

Chi na

w l l go t o war onl y

i n the

case

of

her

own

defense

.

The

terri tory

of

Chi na

i s suf f i ci ent l y vast

i n

order

t o

permt

v i r t ua l l y t he

doubl i ng of

her

present

popul ati on

(actual

densi ty

i s

approxi matel y

80

per

square

ki l ometers)

and of

feed-

i ng i t w thout

havi ng

need of pruni ng

t he

l ands

of a

nei ghbor .

Therefore

the true

danger

i sn ' t

i n seei ng

the Chi nese

r een- 7act i ng

t he

i nvasi on

of the

Huns and

over-

runni ng a

Europe

whi ch

i s onl y a

peni nsul a

of fzia

11

Rather, i t

resi des

i n

t he

fact

that,

i n t he

end,

t he

wel l -bei ng,

hi gher

c reat i ve

knowedge,

t echni cal

e f f i -

ci ency,

power,

and

the a b i l i t y t o

make demands

w l l

no l onger be

t ho

monopol y

of the west

.

ELI M NATING

THE

AMBIGUI TIES

The

Uni ted

States

i s f u l l y

cons6i ous

of t hi s

s i tuat i on

. I t

seems

t o

f eel that

the

safe-guardi ng

of

both

t hei r

supremacy

and

t hat of t h

:

: west i n

general

necessi tates

a

preventi ve

war

agai nst

Chi na,

even

t hei r

press

no

l onger

makes a

mys-

tery of

thi s pos i t i on

.

However,

the

U

S

.

can

onl y act

w t h

i mpuni ty

i f

i t succeeds

i n

m-

rnont ar i l y

i sol at i ng

Chi na

from

t he

rest of

t he Soc i al i st

Cam

The

unspeakabl e

Ameri can

pro

vocat i ons

i n V etnam

re-

gi st er

w t h i n

thi s perspec-

t i ve

.

(cont

. p . 156)

.

8/11/2019 Soulbook, 3, Fall 1965

10/84

156

di op

(They

can

l ead to

wax i f

theU

S .

est i mates, ri ghtl y

or wongl y,

that the sol i dar-

i t y

of

the

Soci al i st

Cam

woul d

f a i l

Chi na, -

that

Cai rn

w-Adz' t benef i ' c

f rom

tha

atomc

umbrol i n and

from

he

- a i r cover

of the US. S .

R

)

The war

woul dthm

spri ng, from

a i ^

ck

of

cl ari ty

i n

the

posi t i ons

ori gi nal l y

taken

Today, as

i n the

t i me

of

the

Korean

Wr,

peat- - i s

gai ned

i n

el i mnati ng

ambi -

gui t i es

i n t i me .

A so,

one woul d

l i k e

to bel i eve

that f i rm

resol uti ons,

whi ch

con-

trast

wth appearances,

have

al ready

been

taken

at

the

l evel of di screet

di pl omacy

not

l eavi ng to

hover i n

the,

ai r any

doubt*

as

to

tha

sol i dari ty of the

Soci al st

Cam

i n

the

case of

a U S .

attack on

Chi na under

any

pretext

whatsoever

.

I t

i s wth

the

aeri al

protect i on

of

the

U

S

.

S

.

R

that

Chi na

was

abl e

to

ai d

North

Korea,

and

why

she

woul d

be abl e

to ai d

Vi etnam

today

. Thi s

i mportant

condi ti on

whi ch

coul d,

alone,

render

effecti ve Chi na' s

ai dto

V etnam

depends enti rel y

upon

the

US

S .

R

;

and

the

reasons

for

Chi na' s

present procrasti nat i on

are

perfect l y

underst ood

The

presi mceof

Si byl l i ne

warni ngs

coul dbe

fata l to peace

.

AGAINST

PREVENTI VE

WR

. I n

the

case

where

al l

thi s

woul d

proceed

wth

col dcal cul ati on

and

agai nst

al l

expectati on, the

resul ts

woul dbe catastrophi c

f or humani ty

.

They

woul dgo be-

yond

the l imts

of

cl assi cal

Macchi avel l i ani sm

to

take on the

di mensi ons

of a

bankruptcy

of

mn

i n

hi s

attempt

to exceed

hi s ethni c

category' i n

order

to

be-

com

reconci l ed

wth

other

mn

and to

croato a

veri tabl e humani ty

.

No

l uci d

bei ng shoul d

hope to

mke

the

best of a

si ml ar si tuati on

The

consequences

that the

peopl ewhoare

sufferi ng

and

who

are f i ghti ng

for

thei r

emanci pat i on

woul d

draw

from

t

woul dbe

i rremedi abl e

and

dreadful

. Chi na' s

technol ogi cal

power

i s a

guarantee

of peace

and of

devel opment because

she throws

out of tuns

the ol d

gam

of the bal ance

of

power .

Worl dpeace

w l l be better assured

i f

a

country

of

the

Thi rd

Wrdl

.

i

s abl e to

becom

a

center

of hi gh i ntel l ectual

de-

vel opmant,

of

techni cal

power,

and of

the

a b i l i t y

t o'

rcturn

t i t for t at .

Thi s w l l

be

a

guarantee

agai nst

possi bl e

acts

of despot i sm of cowardi ce

or

of

raci st

gi n

ti de ; thi s

i ntroduces

an advantageous

di spari ty

i n the di s t r i bat . i o n

of forces on

the pl anet - - -

thi s i s

the grai n

of sand whi chmkas

the

i mperi al i st machi ne

grate

.

I t

i s too

often forgotten

that

mdern sci ence

i s

not yet

suf f i ci entl y

i mpl anted

i n the Thi rd

Worl d, andthat,

for

the

devel opment

of our

future

pl ans

to be

grw

a-

l y compromsed,

an abrupt

darkeni ng of

i nternati onal

rel ati ons

(whi ch i s

al ways

possi bl e)

woul d

be

suf f i ci ent

. Und

rstandi ng,

of

mre

or

l ess

bri ef

durati on,

be-

tween west ern

thermonucl ear

powers i n order to

i mpose

a

l i mtati on

and

a

mnor

mnagemnt on

the

techni cal

devel opment

of the

Thi rdWorl d i s

probabl e,

i f

there

8/11/2019 Soulbook, 3, Fall 1965

11/84

di op 157

i s

what

i s

understood

by

thes , ; , so-cal l ed

powers every

t i me they evoke

the

probl em

of di ssamnati on

of

atom

i c

weapons

.

The

i nterest

and

securi ty

of the Thi rd

Worl d

de-

a- nands

that

al l themans of devel opment, of domn-

ati on and

demnd

shoul dno l onger be the monopol y

of

the

west

.

I n acti ng

today

for the preservat i on of

Chi na, to

prevent

the destructi on

of Chi nes

-

j power s t i l l i n l i mbo,

the

Thi rd

Worl d

has

onl y

to

work

l uci dl y

towards

the

consol i dat i on

of

i t s securi ty

I n real i ty,

the voi ce

of

the unani mous

Thi rd

Wrld

woul dwei gh wth

an enormous

moral

heavi ness

on

the

deci si ons

of

the

onl y two

nucl ear powers on whi ch

the

resul t

of

the si tuati on

depends

.

I n

the

part i cul ar

case

of

the

U

S

S

.

R

,

i t s

strength,

whi ch

i s today

abl e

to

safeguardpeace andto serve the

devel opment of peopl es, was equal l ymnaced

wth destructi on by i mperi al i smwhen shewas i n gestati on .

l ul l t h - z : worki ng

peopl es,

wthout di sti ncti on of col or,

were then

al l i ed

i n

-)rdar

to

hatch i t ,

to

protect

i t f rom

October, 1917

to 1939

;

l ongshoremen

of every count-

ry boycotted the prevent i ve

war

agai nst

theU

S u

.

R

; seamn

rauti d

ed i n

)rd

, r

to bri ng

about

a t r i umph of

i t s

cause,

a cause

i d en t i f i - - d

wth

that of

the

worl d re-

vol ut i on Mre

recentl y,

sorze sci enti sts,

by

pure i deol ogi cal convi ct i on,

i ncurred

nati onal

i ndi gni ty

andpri son i n order to permt i t

( t h -

:

U

S

.

S

R

) to have

access

to

nucl ear and

thermonucl ear power

: Geen Gass,

Kl aus

Fuchs,

Pontecorv

o,

etc

.

Onthe I vory

Coast,

sombl acks fromhe forest

dressed i n

l oi n-cl oths mrked

X' s on

som

ends of

bamboo

wthout

too

much

real i zi ng

what

they

di d,

i t i s true

;

neverthel ess,

thi s

was

thei r

mans of si gni ng the Stockhol m

Appea dest i nedto

assure peace,

to

forestal l

a

premature war

agai nst

theU

5 S

.

R

. when

i t s

nu-

cl ear force was

not yet assured

ACTI VE

SOLIDARTY

~ state whi ch was born and devel oped

i n

such

a

moral

cl i mate shoul dbe avai l -

abl e wthout

equi vocati on, every

Li mo

the

peace

of peopl e i s mnaced

r .

crusade

resembl i ng the

peace

ri ovement

whentheUS. S

. R hada real

need

for

i t ,

shoul d

be newy and i rni nedi atel y

l aunched

by the states of the

Thi rd

, 7orl d

i n

a ;how

of

sol i dari ty wth Chi na

8/11/2019 Soulbook, 3, Fall 1965

12/84

15 8

di op

shores

of each conti nent, even

to

the heart

of

t h - a

untr

: ~dden

forest i n the

Congo .

A

DEFUNCT

NDEPENDENCE

2

--d

that any Bl ack

Lf ri can

state

i s al ready no

l onger i nde-

pendent ( i f i ndependence

has ever been ef fecti ve)

for no one woul dknow

how

to

al ter hi s pol i ti cal regi me

wthrut*uncl e

Barn

baconi i sg

suspi ci ous and

payi ng

hi nt

a

v i s i t

.

The

U

u

.

i s

anxi ous

to

keep

1_ f r i c a

i n

the

Western camp,

wthi n

i t s

own sphere of i nf l uence, to

speakmre

cl earl y One

shoul dn' t

be abl e to

keep

an

i ndependent

country .

The

short peri od of

euphori c

and of easy ter=m fol l owngthe

decl arati ons

of

i ndependence, duri ng whi ch i n

order

to

obtai n everythi ng

al l youhad to dowas

hol d out your hand i s

compl etel y ended everywhere .

For

want

of

bei ng organi zed

i n

t i me

on

mre

vi abl e uni tari an

pol i t i cal

founda-

t i ons,

but

i mpl yi ng

mrepersonal

sacri f i ces,

today

onl y the peri od

of tears

whi ch

i s at

hand

remai ns

. Certai n

countri es

decei ve

themsel ves i n

tryi ng to

organi ze

thei r

i ndi vi dual safety .

However , the

onl y securi ty possi bl e

i n

the

act-

ual si tuati on

of

Bl ack Afri ca

i s

a

col l ecti ve one .

Prospects

for the future

are

gl oomy .

Imperi al i sm

i ntends

to

organi ze

anarchy

over al l

the

Af ri can

Conti nent

i n

a

mnner

whi ch w l l keep the pol i t i cal i n i t i a t i v e that i t

has al ready

regai ned, whi ch

hadbeen

taken away

from

t

by l i berati on

mvemnts on the eve of the i ndepend-

ence of

these

states

.

Here i n

l i e s

a

new

f act of

capi tal i mportance, on whi ch

i t

i s essenti al that the

at t ent i on' of Af ri cans pol ari zes

i t s e l f

.

I t i s the

pl ague

that we

have al ways denounced

A as

Bl ack

~ri ca strongl y

ri sks

recei vi ng

i t

as i t s l ot .

I t

i s the

spectre

of South

Ameri cani zat i on

whi ch

haunts i t wth i t s

cortege

of

unhappi ness

and msery

.

s t i l l

the

sti rri ng decl arat i ons

of Quadros reveal i ng that he was

8/11/2019 Soulbook, 3, Fall 1965

13/84

di op 15

9

The

U

S.

made i t

cl oar

t o

hi n

- i ,

he

sai d, that

an

underdevel opedcountry

wasn' t

abl ,

t o

al l owi t se l f to have an i ndependent

di pl omacy

. Thi s shoul d

be entrusted

t o

an

appropri ate power

.

The

occurences

i n

Santo Domngo are of such an nature as to

edi f y

even

the

most i ndi f f erent

.

I n

the l ong

run,

no amount

of goodness ,

real i sm, or

moderati on , woul d

knowhow o

shel ter

one f r o rn

th is

new

form

of

i nsecur i t y

.

Nkruni ah

i s made t : )

si ng

t oday,

tomorrow

i t

i s

everyone

who w l l dance l i k e e ci cada 2

.

One

takes

touchi ng

precauti ons

t o

gi ve

i mperi al i smt he understandi ng

that i t

w l l

be

very

wel l

t o

adapt

i t se l f t o our

soci al i sm

f or

they

are _not mal i gnant

.

Thei r

i nventors

si mpl ywanted

t o

be fashi onabl e

i n

t he

domai n

of pol i t i cal

expres

s i on ;

thus

Afri canSoci al i sm

s

often

a synonymf or

i nof f ensi ve

soci al i sm

Soon,

as i n the manner

of

the

b i r t h

of

phi l osophy, each

Afri can w l l

wal k

w t h

hi s

soci al -

i st

doct r i ne

under

hi s

arm

A CREATONO HELL

I i owevcr,

one

t r i e s

i n

vai n

t o

prove

t o

t he

Ameri cans

that

there

i s

a

di f f er ence

between a

devi l

whose ta i l

burns l i k e

: a torchand

one

whose

ta i l onl y smokes, be-

cause

f or

them al l soci al i sm

s a creati on of

hel l , whi ch

as

such shoul d return'

there,

i f necessarywth the

hel p of

atomc bombs . Forgi ve

our

i l l usi ons .

Ghana,

Mal i , Gui nea, Tanzani a, and

Congo(B) t o

di f f erent

degrees are al ready

menacedby

i mperi al i sm

whi chdoes

not

desi r e

that any pol i t i cal

experi ment

whatsoever, conductedi ndependentl y of

i t ,

mght

be

concl usi ve,

mght

be

abl e,

f or

that reason, t o i nspi re i n

other countri es

i nc l i nat i ons towards i ndependence

. Thus,

as a

demon whi ch

t orment s

dwarfs, i t

amuses i t se l f

i n

undd ng t he

l abori ous

work

of

the el ves

w t h

adi sconcerti ng f a c i l i t y .

Thepersomi ty of General De Gaul l e hi nders the

di rect

t aki ng i n

hand

of t hi s

part of Bl ack Afri ca by t he Uni ted hates . Nt eanwhi l ~, the

U

S i s devot i ng AsAf

t o

a

systoni at i c st udy, t o

a

s l i c i n g up of

the

terrai n i n

a

manner of

a

chaekarbmd,

and

t o

an

economc penetrati on

as

si l ent

as

i t i s ef f i cac i ous

.

Thei r busi naes

groups

control the admni strati ve

counci l s of

former

co- : pani cs

wth French

names :

. F

.

A

O,

NOSOCO SCOA,

etc

As

a

begi nni ng,

they have

j ust

gotten

control of 49%of the

shares

of

the former

Bank of

Vi l est

t a f r i c a whi ch has

now

become the I nt er nat i onal

Bank

of West Af ri ca .

ERETORLORGAMZES

On

the other

hand,

the

whi te

mnori ty

of

South i j ri ca

woul d

be

abl y

t o

take the

bl ack

cont i nent

from

t he

rear

.

The 13ri t i sh protectorates, encl aves oA

asut ol and,

Zwa

zi l and, and

Bachua

al and,

are

easy prey . The sei zure

of

Southwest Af ri ca i s complete,

8/11/2019 Soulbook, 3, Fall 1965

14/84

16

0

di op

practi ces

the sam

pol i ti cs,

w l l

draw

nearer

to her at

the

opportune

raornant .

The

nati onal l i berati on

mvemnts

of Angol a andof

Mozai ni quo

se

; ra

to be

hal ted

or at l east

stabi l i zed,

that i s to

say,

sn_7othered

f or

an

unpredi ctabl durati on

Thi s has

onl y

been

pos:

: b1

e wth

the

compl i ci ty

of

i mperi al i sm

One

shoul dkeep

a

cl ose

eye on

the

d; vel opment

of the si tuati on

i n

these

two

terri tori es .

Congo(l )' consti tutes

an i deal

buffer state whi ch

woul deven be abl e

to com

pl etel y f a l l

wthi n

the

orbi t of

south Afri ca wth

the consent of theUS

,

despi te

the

actual

appearances

.

Andthe

counter-of fensi ve to

the

i ndependencemvemnt

doesn' t stop

there

. Engl and

can expl ode the

Federat i on of Ngeri a

whenever

srhe

array

f eel

l i k e

i t

; other

f orms

of i nterference

are possi bl e

.

The

reducti on

of

Bl ack

Afri ca

to

a

f ew

smal l

sem-deserted

states,

engul fed i n

an

endemc

anarchy,

i s

not

i nn- possi bl e,

V' I hi l e there

i s

s t i l l

t i me,

i t woul dbe

i mpossi bl e to overl y at-

tract the

attenti on

of

Afri cans

concerni ng the preparat i ons

of

war

and

the under-

ground forces

of South

i J r i ca

The f i r s t

reactor of

t h i s

country

(South

Afri ca)

al ready branched

of f several

years ago

si nce that

t i me,

other snore powerful

reactors have pr obabl y

been

constructed

i n

greatest

secrecy

so as

to

fabri cate

and

stockpi l e

pl utoni umi n

. a

quanti ty

suf f i ci ent for

undertaki ng the

constructi on

of

tacti cal

atomc

bombs

. To-

day, South Afri ca i s

suf f i c i ent l y

equi ppod

i n techni cal matters

to

fabri cate

bombs

of pl utoni

ul n

whi ch w l l

detonateby

i mpl osi on

.

4

.

However that my

be,

the

case

of

V otnai n proves that, the

mmnt at hand,

the

Uni ted

States

woul d easi l y f i nd a

pretext

i n order to

provi de,

i f

necessary,

tacti cal atomc

bombs

and

others to

thu

whi te mnori ty

I t

i s

known

that

such

devi ces

are al ready

stock-pi l ed

at Da-Nangbase

i n South V etnam ready

for

uti l i zati on

The

physi cal

separati on

of the

cornrnuni ti cs that i s bei ng real i zed

wthi n the

f ramework

of

aparthei d

woul d

render possi bl e a per f ect genoci de

.

Today South

Afri ca

i s feveri shl y

organi zi ng

i n order to resi st,

on

the

ml i tary

l evel ,

the

whol e

bl ack

conti nent

.

I t

i s hoped

that

the

danger

w l l be

percei ved i n t i me

.

And

i t

i s

there

that

the

exi stence of a center

of

powor

outsi de

the

west ,

i n the Thi rdWorl d,

woul dpermt

a vi ctori ous

of f sett i ng of an - event ual

dupl i ci ty

South Afri ca

consti tutes

f or Bl ack

Afri ca themst

seri ous

danger

on the road l eadi ng t o an era of

uni versal

under-

standi ng

Before thi s

preci se

i aenace,

as

before the

probl ems of constructi ng a

rati onal

econom

andorgani zi ng a

vi abl e commn

market,

Afri cans, i sol ated,

are reduced

to

i nef fecti veness

. One

woul d

l i k e

to

bri ng

together the

egoi sti c

i ndi vi dual

advant

pol i t i cal

separati on

andthe

col l ecti ve

advantages

of a pol i ti cal

fed

: rat i on,

8/11/2019 Soulbook, 3, Fall 1965

15/84

di op 161

to real i ze that egoi sm

vi sa- vi s

Afri ca,

ski l l f ul l y

set up i n

a

doctri ne of

wsdor1,

doesn' t l eadvery f ar

.

One

understands

i n an obscure

mnner

that at the end the new

f orms of i nsecuri ty

spare

no

one

:

wtness

Goul art,

Oyr1pi o,

Naga,

andToul on

.

THE DEFEAT OF BOLI VAR

Ware enteri ng

i nt o

an era of

humani ty andhuml i at i on

.

W

w l l

l eave

i t onl y

by

the

adopti on of a pol i t i c al

si tuati on

of

a federal nature

.

One shoul d

thi nk about

the consequences of Bol i var' s

defeat

wth

respect to Lati n

Amri ca

I t i s certai n that

the

i nterests of the

peopl e

are

hardl y opposed

to a

si ml ar

sol uti on

On

the

contrary,

al l

i nvi t e

Dahomans,

Senegal ese,

I voi ri zns,

Gui naans,

Mal i ans, etc .

t o uni te

thei r

a b i l i t i e s

and

powers

i n

order to

mul t i pl y thei r

capaci ty

to

oppose

anarchy and forei gn

domnat i on

AnAfri can

pol i t i c al structure,

i n

whi ch

an effort of

rati onal

economc

construct-

i on

woul d

be abl e to be undertaken,

does

not yet exi t .

I t s creat i on

depends onl y

upon

Af ri cans

.

Wen

one

attempts to

consi der

economc

regroupi ngs

outsi de of

pol i t i cal domai n, thi s

d i f f i c u l t y

i s

onl y

a

t ransposed i l l usi on

A

federal executi ve

i s necessary, however embryoni c

hemy

be,

whore w l l be

transferred

amnimum

of

authori ty . permtt i nghi m f or

exampl e, to deci de upon regi onal

speci al i zati on,

af t

.

r

a thorough study ; then Senegal ' s vocati on

for

a chemcal i ndustry

woul d

be

abl e to be

conf i rmed i t woul dbe the

samfor

the i ncl i nati on

to

the

heavy-metal

and l i ght al l oy i ndustry

of

the

Gui nea-Li beri a

ensembl e

;

and

that of

the

I vory Coast

f or

the i ndustry

of

wood

and

i t

deri vat i ves

.

TO BE RESPONSIBLE FOR ONE'S

D N FATE

The

organi zat i on of an Afri can

commn

market w l l

consi st then of

studyi ng

the vol ume andoutf l owof

the

compl ementary

products

t hus,

fabri cated

A

rati onal

economc

organi zat i on woul dn' t know

howto

take precedent over the pl aci ng i n

operati on

of a val i d f ormul a of

pol i t i c al

uni f i cati on

.

One shoul dnote wth

astoni shment

that

i t

i s

not known

howto

conserve thepol i -

t i c al

experi ence of the

col oni al epoch

on the

pl an

of

uni fyi ng

di verse

terri tori es

:

the

f ormer

federati ons

of

West

Af ri ca and

of

Equatori al

Afri ca, of

(

page 162

cont

8/11/2019 Soulbook, 3, Fall 1965

16/84

16

2 di op

whi ch the v i a b i l i t y hadbeen proved,

are

broken

up

i n consequence of ogocent r i c

di scord

The

or i gi nal i t y

of

Afri canpol i t i cal d i f f i c u l t i e s resi des i n

the

f ac t t hat one

i s

obl i ged

t o

real i zeby peaceful

means that whi ch i n

hi story

i s al ways accozr_pl i shed

by war

andvi ol ence, when

i t i s

a

quest i on of pol i t i cal

or cul t ur al uni f i c at i on

. -

I n

t he

absence of

a

prel i mnary

pol i t i cal sol ut i on, each

l f r i c a n state w l l

try

t o become

an

i ndustr i al mcro-uni verse i n

order

t o

be

sel f -suf f i c i ent , al l

i n bei ng

obl i gat ed t o

opt for i nstal l at i ons

of weak power

and smal l

capaci t y

.

The

groups

devoi d of

power

of deci si on, i mposad

upon everyone, whi ch

woul d

not

i mpl y

a

par t i al

and

par al l el

abandon

ment

of

sover ei gnt y,

w l l

al ways

be

shor t l i ved . The af ri can pol i t i cal

expori once

duri ng those l ust

years

l eaves us

w t hout

any i l l usi ons

as

t o t hi s poi nt of

vi ew even f or the Organi zati on

of

Afri can

uni t y

.

But

al l

of

t hat w l l not have been

sorrowl ost i f

i t i s `

at

thi s

pr i ce,

andat thi s

pri ce

onl y, that

the

Afri can

xnasses

take cogni zance

of

tho

f ac t t hat

t hei r

f at e l i es

i n

t hei r

own

hands

and

n_o_ t

el sewhere,

and

that

i t

i s

very necessary

that

they

deci de

t o

assume

respons i bi l i t y

for

i t

.

f ootnotes

1 .

The Thi rd V

. arfd

i s

that

goup of

nat i ons t h; =t have ? common background

of

oppressi on and

have the

common

obecti ve of

el i mnati ng

that cpprrssi on .

2

.

a ci cada

i s

an i nsect whi ch i s noted

f or t he prolonged shri l l notes of the

me,

produced

by

speci al

sound

organs .

3

. Pretori a

i s the capi t?I

of the Republ i c of SouthAf ri ca

.

4 . f ' i t h o u t

becom ng overl y techni cal

i t

my be stated

that b, , i si cal I y

there exi st two

ways

of

obt a i ni ng

fi ssi on

materi el

for the

constr uct i on of

ztemc bombs ; one

method, uti l i zi ng

Plutonium

239, i s

probabl y

t he most

wdel y

used by

nuclear

powers

because

of

t he

rel at i vel y

l ess

i ntr i cate

i nst rumentat i on

needed f ar product i on

of

thi s materi al ;

The use of

Urani um235

as

f i ssi onabl e

materi al

i s

at the heart of the other

mthod, and has onl y

been produced i n

the

west at

consi derabl e cosi (because

of the necessi ty of

refi ned processes

i n whch over

a

thousand

i nterl ocki ng uni ts, al l

f uncti oni ng

perf ectl y,

have been

necessaryf or

thi s

pro-

duct i on) .

The advantages

i n

h?vi ng

faci l i t i es to produce

11235

mans that the

abi l i ty

t o

produce

t r i t i um

a

key

elemnt

i n

the

product i on of

the

H bomb,

i s

al so

near at hand.

(

footnotes by

SOULBOOK

)

8/11/2019 Soulbook, 3, Fall 1965

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wl l i ams

163

ROBERT WLLI AMS

:

A

NEW

FI GURED

N STAGE

AND

SCREEN

Recent l y

The Tour i ng

Art i s ts Group

(TAG i n Las

Angel es,

Cal i f , began

present i ng, I f

We

Must Li ve , a

' three act i mpressi oni st

day

by Frank Geen- '

wood . The pl ay

i s

based

on

Rober t Wl l i ams

and

t he Bl ack peopl e

of Mnroe,

North

Carol i na' s ml i tant st ruggl e

agai nst

Ku Kl ux

Kl an and F

. B

. I . terror .

On t he other

si de

of

t he gl obe,

at

al most the same

t i me, a Peki ng f i

m

st udi o pr oduced

a 70

mnute

documentar y

enti t l ed

:

Rober t Wl l i ams

I n

Chi na

.

I t covers

Mr

.

. a nd

Mrs

. Robert V, i l f i ams recent t our of the

Peopl es' Republ i c

of Chi na

.

The

Cuban

F i l m I nst i tute

has

f urther

ut i l i zed

the t al ent s

and back-

ground of Brother Wl l i ams

.

W t h

hi s hel p t hey have j ust

f i ni shed repro-

duci ng

a

documentar y

cn t he Af r oameri can

f reedomst r uggl e

.

Good l uck i n

your

new

career,

Rob,

at

l east we know youwl l

do

a

better

j ob

i n

pot rayi ng Bl ack mascul i ni t y

than

hol l ywood or

Broadway

8/11/2019 Soulbook, 3, Fall 1965

18/84

164 f reeman

*AX4e

mw

rorn~

1 J L0XX0 = UX%4C301tkA4eX*

t

~x~

. tz

a~on

by

kannm

fr-nian

The

spectre of

a

storm

i s

haunti ng the Western

Wrld I t s

forebodi ng

pre-

sence i s bei ng fe l t

i n

the great

capi tal s

fromRomtoBonn

to Pari s, to Bruss6l s

to London, ' across the Atl anti c

to

NewYork and

Washi ngton, across the Paci f i c

to

Mel bourne

andSi dney the

spectre

of a stormi s

brewng

on

the

hori zons of

theWst . .

.

I

.

Wen

the

young, staunchl y-Bl ack

i ntel l ectual Roi l and Snel l i ngs thrust

thi s l e-

gi t i mate

observati on

before

the of t -decei ved

Af roameri can peopl e,

I ,

for one,

was scepti cal

of thi s ' spectre of a

storm

t

was Frantz Fanon

who

hacked to

11e ces myuncertai nty about

thi s

i nexorabl e

search of

the

Thi rdWorl d to be

heard

_

.

After

re4di ng the

W

et c

h h _ e _ d

_O_f

-

The Earth*

I

want edto

read

everythi ng

by, and about, . ,

thi s

Bl ack

mn

par exc e11en c e

.Yes,

he was a

mn

because

he wote wth

courageous

honesty

and he coul dknow

real i ty

because he

was

born

Bl ack .

I

f e l t that by knowng hi s assert i ons andabout hi s capaci ty to

t e l l

the truth

that

somhow

mght

exorci se

mysel f

f rommnyof

the

pueri l e

myths

of

my

of -

ten

ambi guous,

but

progressi ng

l i f e

.

Each

sentence

Fanonpl aced on

the

page i s

l i k e

spokenroses, but whenan un-

suspecti ng. reader

al l ows i t to

enter

i nto hi s

mnd

i t

expl oacs

l i k e

abombwth a

creat i ve

vi ol ence

that

smashes

one to

the

ground

of

real i ty .

Li sten to another

emmnent Bl ack

Mart i ni quai s pai nt us

an apropos port rai t of Fanon' s

uni que

styl e

of wi ti ng Ll ways,

everywhere,

the

sam

l uc i di t y, the

sam

forceful l -

ness,

the

sam

fearl essness

of

anal ysi s,

the

sam

s p i r i t

of

' scandal ous'

de-

mysti f i cati on

.

2

Yes,

the

proof of the puddi ng i s i n the eati ng

.

As

I

di gestedthesoufle

i ke

8/11/2019 Soulbook, 3, Fall 1965

19/84

Yel l owpeopl es . . . .

Thank

YouBrother

Frantz .

Now must

tel l

you

somethi ngabout

thi s

mnwhose book,

L

es Da

m

s

D

e La

T

er r e

,

I have j ust f i ni shed readi ng f or

the

thi rd

t i me

Frantz

Fanon was born i n

1925

i n Fort

De

Franc-e, Marti ni que,

IFrench' VT e : t

I ndi es

.

A though

he read

medi ci ne

at

the

Sorbonne,

and

l at er

speci al i zed

i n

Psychi atry, ' never-

t he

l ess

he

once

sai d

I

don' t gi ve

' a

damn

about

Europe,

i t s cul tureanddi pl omas, or

the

i nst i t ut i ons i t t ol er at es whi ch

are

j ust

so

many i nst ruments of

domnati on, ' We shoul d

chuck out

that

garbage and tel l oursel ves we

have nothi ng

to

l ose

by doi ng so

.

Gherwse, no l i berat i on

i s possi bl e

3

.

Duri ng

Worl d

Wr

I I

even

though

he

was

st udyi ng

at

the

Uni versi ty

of Pari s

he

found

t i me

t o

work

w t h

P_r_e

s

e

n

c_ e _A_ f r i ca

i

na . A though

l at er

- -

i f not at thi s

earl y

date

- - he

hadseri ous di sagreement

: w th

t h ` s group over

the

concept of

Negri tude,

they soamad

to

al ways have had

the

utmost

respect

f or

Fanon

.

Upon Fanon' _;

tragi

c

death

i n 1961

t he f at her of

Negr i t ude,

AmC

Sai re,

summdup t he

f eel -

i ngs

of the majori ty

of

the l eader

: of

the

e t

_u

d _ a _ s _ _ n _ o _ i r _ e _ s

when he sai d

Fanon

i s

dead

W

knewf or

months

that

he

was

goi ng

t o

di e,

but we were

hopi ng

agai nst

al l

reason,

because we

knewhi mt o

be resol ute and so

essent i al

t o our

hori z: ) n

of

man,

that

some mracl 3

woul d

transpi re

t ' 4

.

I n

1952 Fanon's

f i r s t

book Peau Noi re, Masque

Bl anes

( Fl ack

gi i n, Wi te

Tdasks

- -

i t i s supposed

t o

publ i shed

i n

Engl i sh soon by Gove

Press)

was publ i shed i n

Pari s . Immedi atel y

after that

he

started worki ngas a

psychi at r i st

i n

Bl i da,

Al

geri a

.

When

the

A geri an

war

brQk

~

out,

he

j oi ned

the

F LN

,

but

h

;

a t i l l

found

t i me

to

speak i n Pari s i n 1956

at

the Fi rst

Congress of Bl ack

Wi ters . He

was

al -

so the Chi ef Edi tor

of t he F

.

LNnewspaper,

E_1

I V

oudj ah i d

andduri ng the

same peri od

he

wote ancther

book, Year _V

of

t he

_Al ger i an PL

vol ut i on

.

I n

1900 ha

became

one of

t he l eaders

of

the A geri an Provi si onal Government ,

and

then he

went

of f

t o Ghana t o

become Al geri a' s Ambassador

to that

country

.

I t

i s reported

that i n

1951,

upon l earni ng

that

he had l eukema he

merel y

l aughed,

and

onl y

expressedconcern

about

whether he had

t i n i a

t o compl ete hi s

wr i t i ngs

( he was

at

the t i me worki ng on T_he Wetched

of

the

E,xth

and

of

course whathar

he

woul d

get the 2~ppo r

tun

f reeman

165

8/11/2019 Soulbook, 3, Fall 1965

20/84

?66

f r- roman

maybe

hi s contempt

for

death

at

that t i me was

a consequence

of

the

fact

that

he

had faced i t

twot i mes

before, and

each

ti me he

had

l eaped over

i t s

devouri ng

precV ce .

The

f i r s t

t i me

hi s

j eep

ran

over

a

mne near

the

A geri an

- i i i l oroccan

Fronti er

and

he

emerged

wth twel ve

fractured

vertebrae,

compl i catedby para-

pl egi a

and

sphi ncteral

di sorders

.

The

second

t i me

he

was

i n

Rom

when the car

i n whi ch

he

was

to

r i de was wred

wth

expl osi ves

by the Rod

Hand (the

same

group of

French

t er r or i st s who

murdered

the

Camerouni an

pat r i ot ,

Brother Fel i x

1l / i oume),

but

the

bomb

expl oded

prematurel y,

mssi ng

Brother

Fanon, but k i l l -

i ng

2

I t a l i a n

Chi l dren

pl ayi ng

near the

car

.

But

no

matter when

Frantz

Fanon

di edphysi cal l y

hi s

wr i t i ngs

have been

kept

al i ve

andare

bei ngenshri ned

i nt o

the

psyches

of the

new

Bl ack

revol uti onari es

.

They

have

i nf l amed

t he

i nt el l ect ual

ci rcl es

of

al l

French

-speaki ng

Af ri ca

and

I

predi ct a

si ml ar

fa te

for

hi s message

i n the rest

of

the ' Thi rd

Worl d' - -

i n-

cl udi ng

Afroameri ca .

But not

onl y

are

hi s

works

of

i mportance t o

the exi l ed

Afri cans

i nthe

western

worl d,

but

t he

fact

that Fanonwas

al so a

mmber of the

forced

di aspora

makes

hi m

a c r i t i c a l

exampl e

f or

youngBl ack

Ameri cans

. W

are

chroni cal l y

aski ng

oursel ves

'Wat i s

Afri ca

t o us

? '

W

want

t o know

how

we coul d

possi bl y

b- -

of

any

benef i t

t o

the

' f e l l ah in ' ,

' guaj i ros ' ,

' unt ouchabl es'

and

al l

the

other

' Soul

Brothers'

of the

uni verse

.

Agai n

i t ' s C

ai re who poi nt s

t o an answer

:

Fanon

probabl y

soared

to

such heights

and

was possessed of so

wde

a hori zon

because

he

was

a

V est

I ndi an,

maningthat he started f rom

so

l owy

and

narrow

a

basi s

.

Maybe

i t

was

necessary to

be

West

I ndi an, that

i s, to be

so dest i tuted,

so depersonal i zed, i n

order to go forthwth such

ardour

to the

conquest

of

onesel f and

of pleni tude

West

I ndi an,

thi s i s

to

say, so msti fi ed

i n the

begi nni ng

as to fina ly be

abl e

to

expose

the

most

secret

mtives of mysti f i cat i on,

andwt h such

mast ery ; f i nal l y, West

I ndi an

to be

capabe of so f orceful l y

escapi ng f rom

i mpotency by acti on,

f rom sol i tude

by f raterni ty .

5

A though

C

ai re

speaks

hare

of

the West

I ndi an,

i t

i s

apparent

f romthe

con-

t ext of

hi s

remarks that

he i s

suggest i ng that

manki nd i s

obl i ged t o

be l edby the

di spersed

of

Ethi opi a,

the hewers

of street

corn3r

mel ees,

and

drawers of whi te

r ac i st

paternal i sm

He

i s sayi ng

that i t

i s

we,

who

are

exi l ed

from

sel f

andhome-

Land,

are

best

abl e

t o

' set

af oot

a

newman'

; and

that

i t was Frantz

Fanonwho

i l l ust r ates

our pot ent i al

. . . . .

Thank

You

Brother

Frantz

I

am

oi ng

t o

di scuss

the

Wetched

of the

Earth

f reeman 167

8/11/2019 Soulbook, 3, Fall 1965

21/84

A

coupl e

of comments

are

i n

order i n regards

to

the Engl i sh

t rans l at i on

by Constance

Farr-

i ngt on of

Les

Dam

e

s

D

_

La

T

_ r _ r _ e _

.

On the

whol e

i t

i s

good

.But

there

are

twoprobl ems

that

can

make f or dec i s i ve

con-

f us i on:

one i s

the

word

nat i ve

andthe

other i s Negroi sm

Fanon

i n the

or i gi nal di d

not

say

1' i ndi g : ne

whi ch i s transl ated The

nat i ve

.

What

he

di d

say

was

l e col oni ce

whi ch

i s

t r ansl at ed

as

t he

col oni zed

.

There

i s

an

obvi ous' -

bi g di f f er ence between

The

nati ve

and t he

col oni zed

.

Trai m

l at i ng

Negri tude

i n to Negroi sm

i s dangerous because

i t

l eads t o a greater ni t s -

understandi ng

of a

school

of

thought

that

i s al ready

msunderstood

i n the

Engl i sh

speaki ng

worl d Myopi ni on i s

that i t shoul d

have

been le f t

i n the French

when i t

was put

i nt o

the Engl i sh text .

when

Fanon' s

book

was

f i r s t

publ i shed

i n Pari s,

French

l i ber al s

l et

l oose

t hei r

bag

of

t r i te ,

ambi guous

barragesupon

i t ,

sayi ng that i t

was too f ul l of

vi o-

l ence

qnd

hatred,

.

. or

that

Fanon

mght

be

gui l ty

of raci sm

i n

reverse

.

I nci

-

dentt l l y

the French

Government subsequentl y

banned

t he

book

.

I n the

US

t he l i ber al s are

gi v i ng thebook si ml ar

treatment

: Harol d I saacs,

the

non-responsi bl e

f e l l ow

- t ravel er of Bl ack thi nkers

has

apparentl y been

crownjd

the

castrator

of

Frantz

Fanon

.

I t

i s

i r oni c

t hat i n

hi s

revi ewessay6

of Fanon' s book I saacs saves

hi s

most

caust i c

remarks

f or Sar t re' s

i nt r oduct i on t o

t he

book . I saacs says

Sart-r

k -

,

dances around

Fanon l i k e an exci ted

smal l satyr . . .

Thi s

i s

i r oni c

because

both_

Sartre

and I saacs

have

often (

or t o

bemore preci se, Sartre

often and

I saacs

v i r t u a l l y al l

the

ti me) been

the

observers,

attempti ng t o analyze

and

i n

terpret

Bl ack

peopl es' thoughts

.

But

there

i s

a

generi c

di f f er ence

between

whi te

i nt el l ect ual Sartre

andwhi te egg:head

I saacs

:

I saacs

has endeavored

to

def ol i at e

al l bl ossomng

progressi ve Bl ack

i deas

- - wth

a stress

on

Afroameri can

ones ;

however,

Sartrehas

tri ed

al ways

t o honestl y

i nt er pr et

the

beauty

ands i gni f i cance

of Bl ackpeopl es'

l i t erature

andpol i t i cal theory

wthout

t 3 l l i n g us t hat we

shoul d

want

somethi ng di f f er ent

. 7.

(But th i s

does

not i mpl y

t hat Bl ack

peopl e ne

e

d

Sartre t o

i nt er pr et

for

thom but

Whi tepaopl -

need

Sartre

t o show

themwhy

they

arethe

most

hated

group of

peopl e

i n the

Uni verse,

and

probabl ybeyond

. )

i n

-

th i s

context

we can

- - al though

we

are

not obl i ged t o - - appreci ate

Sar t r e' s dy-

and l i kew se, al l of

I saacs' thoroughl y

t r i t e

and

8/11/2019 Soulbook, 3, Fall 1965

22/84

168

Mman

we must

real i ze

that he

has consi derabl e

i nf l uence

amongst

t he nai ve

nogro

camp-

fol l owers

of pet

: r na l i s t i c

whi te

l i ber

: l s

.

Hence f or

our confused

. br ot her s'

eke

we must

wage

a

r esol ut e

campai gn

agai nst hi s

obstrusi ons

on Bl ack

revol ut i onary

thought

.

~

When I saacs

l ooks at

Fanonthrough

hi s

l i beral -scope

he

sees

al l

ki nds

of

take-of f s

i n a

successi on

of w l d

and

bl urry

yonders

.

A though

i t i s true

that

much

of

Fanon' s

thoughts

are

i ncompl ete

( i s

th i s

amazi ngwhen

the

mn

knew

he

was raci ng

agai nst

death

to f i n i s h

th i s

book ?) ,

he i s

qui t e

consi stent w th

hi s

two

mai n

themes

Now the

' f el I ah' ,

the

unempl oyed

man,

the starvi ng

nat i ve do

not

l ay

a

clam

o the

truth

they do

not say

that

they represent

the

truth

f or

they

are

the truth. (p

. 34)

The

other focus

of

i nt er est

i s

' The

nati onal i st ml i tant

who had f l ed

f rom the

town i n

disgust . , .

. di scovers

i n

real

acti on

a

new form

of pol i ti cal

acti vi ty

whch i n no

way

resemes the

old

These

pol i t i cs

are

nat i onal ,

revol ut i onary

and

soci al

and

these

new

facts

whch the

nat i ve

wl l

now

come

to

know

exi st

onl y

i n

acti on

.

They

are the essence

of

thefight

whch

expl odes

the old

col oni al

t ruths

and reveal s

unexpected

f?cets, whch

bri ngs

out

new

meani ngs

and p npoints

the

cont radi cti ons

: camouf l aged

by

these

facts. .

.

V ol ence

al one,

vi ol ence commtted

by the

peopl e,

u

; o . l ence

organized and

educated by

i ts

l eaders,

and

gi ves

the key to them

VO

THOUT

THAT KNOV~LEDGE

OF

THEPRACTCE

OF ACTON

THERES

NOTHNG

BUT

A FANCY-DRESS

PARADEAND

THE

BLARE

OF

THE

TRUMETS.

p

117 (emphasi s

added

by

km

)

So

when

one

reads Fanon' s

masterpi ecehe

shoul d

keep

i n mnd these enl i ght -

eni ng

passages ; .

they

are

the

contai ners

t hat

encl ose

the

heteregenous

i nsi ght s

that

are spread

l i ke w l c' i f i r o- t hr ough

th i s - i ncendi ary

book

.

I saacs

says

that

Fanon i s

sayi ngthat

vi ol ence

i s

the

onl y way

t o

wn

manhood

I t

i s

very

true

that

Fanon i s

convi nced

that vi ol ence

i s the

b

es

t

arm

of

- . e

col o-

ni zed

that can

beused

agai nst the

col oni al i s t

barbari ty

he i s al so

convi nced

that

vi ol ence

i s

of

mximum

oci ol ogi cal

val ue

because

' the

col onzed s

vi ol ence

uni -

f i e s

the

peopl e ;

and

at the l evel

of psychol ogy

' i f

f rees

the nat i ve

f rom

hi s

i nf er -

i o r i t y

compl ex

and

fromhi s

despai r and

i nac t i on

; i t

makes

hi mf ear l ess

andre

stores

hi s

sel f - respect . ' But

Fanon i s

qui ck

t o cal l a

hal t

t o

general i zati ons

Wknow

for

sure

today

that i n

Ageria the

test of

force eras i nevi tabl e

;

but other

count ri es

through the work

of

clari fi cati on

undert?ken

by a

party

l ed thei r

peopl e to the same

resul t s .. p54

i s

aacs says

that

i t i s

not

easy

to

pl ay

Fanon's

game

.

. (???? =km)

. . .

w t hout

a

scorecard

t o

te l l

youwho

the

pl ayers

are

.

. .

But

I saacs'

bi as

t o

bourgeosi ze

everythi ng

Bl ack

proscri bes

hmrom

seei ng

that

Fanon

obvi ousl y

does

not

gi ve

8/11/2019 Soulbook, 3, Fall 1965

23/84

f reeman

169

contest of

humani ty

agai nst

i nhumani ty

. I n f act

Fanon

throws

qui d pr

o qu

o

for the i n s i p i d

I saacs andhi s

i l k

p i n order to

arr i ve at

thi s

concept i on of

the party,

we

must above

al l

ri d oursel ves

of

the very western, very bourgeoi s and therefore

coni mpti ous

att i tude that the mass are i n-

capabe of governing themsel ves . I n f act experi ence

proves

thar

the

masses underst and

perfectly the most

compl i cated

probl ems (p. 150)

SoFanon, i n

one

of th. most astoni shi ng

secti ons of hi s

book, goes

on t o

gi ve

myri ad

exampl es f romhi s

A geri an

experi ence

t o

prove

th i s poi nt .

But

he

states

that there i s

one

hi tch I t i s true that i f

care

,

i s

taken

t o

use

onl y

l anguage

that i s

understood

by

graduates

i n

l aw

and

economcs, you

can

easi l y

prove

that themasses

have to be

managed

f romabove

.

But

i f youspeak

tha

l anguage

of

everyday

then

youw l l

real i ze

that

the

masses

are

qui ck to sei ze

every

shade of meani ng

and

t o

l earn al l

the

t r i c ks of the trade .

( p

. 151) To be

sure

the

s i gni f i cance i s

not

mssed

- - even by

those who

need ' scorecards' - - he goes on

t o

say

Everythi ngcan

be

expl ai nedt o thepeopl e

on the

si ngl e condi t i on that you

real y want them

t o under-

stand

( p

. 151)

Wi l e

I

am

peaki ng

of l eaders i t i s noteworthy

that

Fanon' s

scoreboardgi ves

us

t he

necessaryunderstandi ng

t o

f i l l

Afroameri ca' s

scorecardon i t s

f i c t i t i ous

Afroameri can

pol i t i cal l eadershi p

( par t i cul ar l y

i f we

appl y

hi s

c r i t e r i a

to

t hei r

game

j ust before,

duri ngandafter the 1964 Harl em

' r i o t s ' )

; and

he

al so

cooks

us

some food for

thought

vi s-a-vi s

the

post- i ndependent ;

Kenyan

s i tuat i on

'Wat

i s

the reacti on

of

the

nat i onal i st

part i es to

thi s

erupt i on

of

the peasant

masses

i nto

the

nat i onal strugge?

. . . They

don' t oppose

the

cont i nui ng

of

the

rebel l i on,

but

they

content

themsel ves

wth

l eavi ng

i t to the spontaneous

acti on

of the country

peopl e

. . . . .

They

do

not

go i nto

the

count rysi de

to

educate t he peopl e pol i ti cal l y,

or to

i ncrease thei r

awareness or

put the

st ruggl e

i nto a hi gher`' revol . A l they

do

i s to hope that , carri dd

onwards

by i ts ownmomentum the acti on of

f he- peopl e

wl l not come

to

a standsti l l . . I n

Kenya

for exampl e,

duri ng

the

mu-mu

rebel l i on, not - a

si ngl e

wel l - known

nat i onal i st decl ared

hi s

af f i l i at i on w th

themovement , or even to

defend

the mn

i nvol ved

i n

i t

.

p

pp

.

93-94

17

0 f reeman

Fanon

wants

no

part

of

any

ki nd

of

counter- raci sm

no part of

Negri tude

.

8/11/2019 Soulbook, 3, Fall 1965

24/84

. .

.

. no

part

of

a ' Bl ack cul t ur e,

no

part of l eani ng, on

speci ous

gl or i f i cat i ons of

the

past

. . .

I saacs

does

i t

agai n

He

uses

hi s pseudo-ski l l i n sermoni zi ng

on

quarter

truths

.

The

truth

i s that Fanon

i s

very

consci ous

of the

f ac t that

i mperi al i smhas

' de-

val ued' the

gl or i ous

past of

Afri ca

.

And

he, as

much

as

Senghor, Cesai re

or

J

.

A

Rogers i s

convi nced

of the

hi s tor i cal necessi ty

of

studyi ngthe hi story of

the

col oredpeopl es

of the worl d,

and

part i cul arl y

Bl ack

peopl e

studyi ng

t hei r

ownhi story regardl ess

of

what nat i on- state

they

mght

l i v e

i n

. But

he

goes

on

t o

say

that thecol oni zed

i nt el l ect ual

i s obl i ged

t o di ssect the

heart

of

hi s

peopl e.

(p

. 171)

So he carri es t hi s l i ne of

reasoni ng f urther

and

observes that

often

those

who

profess

t o tear

themsel ves

away f rom

western

cul ture

embrace,

rather

pre-

t ent i ousl y, a

f ewouter

garments

of

t r adi t i onal

Afri can l i f e ( sandl es,

et c . )

;

lbut

he observes

that

what

these i ntel l ec tual s

are

concerned

wth

cannot bri ng them

t o

an understandi ng i n

order ' t o

measure

t her

. a

l s i tuat i on whi ch

the

mnand

women

of

hi s

countryknow

'

(p

.

180)

He adds

that

when

the

peopl e

take

i t

upon

themelves

to struggl e

agai nst

t hei r col oni al

oppressors t hei r

pri nci pl es of

custom areun-

dergoi ng

radi cal changes,

mai nl y because

these

same

pri nci pl es

duri ng

col oni al -

i smacted

as

safeguards

(roughl y

defensi ve mechani sms)

and

duri ng

the strug-

gl e

i t i s

vi ol ence

and/or

pol i t i cal

act i on

whi ch

become

the

safeguards

.

Thus he

comes

to

t he concl usi on

that at

t hi s cr i t i cal

peri od

when the

masses are

l ooki ng

toward

the

future,

the i nt el l ect ual

paradoxi cal l y

turns toward

the

past and

away

f romactual

events

.

8.

A though

there

mght

be

room

for

argument

on thi s

provocati ve

vi ew

th i s

argument does

nothi ng

t o

subst ant i at e

I saacs'

cl ai m

that

Fanon

wants

no

part

of

Negri tude

.

Fanongi ves

other

arguments

on the f ai l i ngs

of

Negri tude,

(e .

g

cul -

ture

shoul d

be pri mari l y

nat i onal

i nstead of

supr a- nat i onal ) ,

but i n

the

f i nal anal -

ysi s

Fanon

does no

more

than

poi nt

out

the

cont r adi ct i ons,

i n

a di al ec t i cal

sense,

of

much

of

the

ever

-changi ng

-mul ti - i nterpreted

concept

(st yl e?)

of

Negri tude

Other

than Isaacs there

are

other

whi te

i ntel l ec tual s

who

treat

Fanon

wth

more

respect,

but who seem

to be

more

i nt er est ed i n

Donneybrooks

than

decol oni za-

t i on . They

say

Fanon

underrates the

degree

of

cul t ur al

cont i nui t y

whi ch exi sts

b e - - :

tween

pre-col oni al

and

post-col oni al

Afri ca

For

exampl e,

Al l

Afri can

pheno-

mena - - even

danci ng

- -

are

t o

hm

unct i ons

of

col oni al i sm

9-

Fanondoes

not

say

- -

nor

does hi s pos i t i on

i mpl y

- -

that

dance

and

possessi on

are

products

of

col oni al i sm

What

he

does

say

i s that the submergedaggressi vi ty

(that

muscu-

l ar

moti on

whi ch

the

obst acl e

of

col oni al i smaccentuates

towards

moti on,

but

be-

fore the

ant i - col oni al st r uggl e

i t i s

general l y

expended

on other

col oni zed,

or

i n

8/11/2019 Soulbook, 3, Fall 1965

25/84

f reeman 17

1

' canal i zed'

i n the dance

andthe

possessi ons .

Thus he i s not questi oni ngthe fact

of any survi val

of

the

pattern

of the

t r adi t i onal l i f e ;

but he

i s s tat i ng that

i nthi s

wayt hei r

' pr i nc i pl es (that

i s

t he at t i tudes

of

t he

part i c i pant s as opposedt o the

form

and

content of the

cul t ur e)

t o

an

i mportant

degree have

been

radi cal l y

trans

formed

He

l ater

says that

the

st r uggl e f or

decol oni zati on

does

the

f ol l ow ng

to

the

cul t ur al l i f e

of the

peopl e : And

the

youth of a col oni zed

country,

growng

up

i n an

atmoshore

of shot

and f i r e ,

mywel l make

a

mock of ,

and

does not

hesi t at e

t o pout

scorn

upon the zombi es of hi s ancestors, the dead

who

ri se

agai n, and

the

dj i nns who

ruhh

i n t o your

body

whi l e

youyawn The nat i ve di scovers real -

i ty

and

transform

i t i nto

the

pattern

of

hi s

custom,

i ntothe

practi ce

of

vi ol ence

and i nto hi s

pl an f or Freedom ( p.

46 ;

emphasi s

added

bykm)

I t

i s

of pri me

i mportance t o

understand

that

Fanonnot

onl y does

not

under-

est i mate the

cul t ur al

cont i nui t y

whi ch

exi sts betweenpre-col oni al ,

col oni al and

post- col oni al Af ri ca, but i n f act he

exal t s t he

banner of

t r adi t i onal

Af ri ca contro-

ver si al l y

hi gh

' The

peasant who stays put

-

defends

hi s

t radi t i ons stubbornl y,

and

i n

a

coloni zed

soci ety stands

f or

the di sci pl i ned

el ement

who

i nterests l i e

i n mntaningthe soci al

structure. '

(p . 90)

He goes

onto

say

' These mn

(revol ut i onari es who

have

been exi l ed

f rom the ci ty . . . km)

di scover a coherent

peopl e

(the peasants . . km)

who go

onl i vi ng,

as

i t

were

stati cal l y,

but

who

keep thei r moral val ues and

thei r

devot i on

to the

nat i on

i ntact

.

They di scover

a

peopl e

that i s generous,

ready

. t

o

sacri fi ce

themsel ves

compl etel y,

an

i mpat i ent peopl e,

wth

a

st oney

pride. ' (pp 101-02)

Fanon

( l i k e

SekouToure)

sees

much

of

the

peasants'

preserved

customs

as of

ri me i mportance i n theprocess of decol oni zat i on

he memory of

the ant - col oni al

peri od

i s, yery much

a ive i n the

vi l l ages, where

womn

s t i l l .

croon i n

thei r

chi l dren' s ears songs to

whch

the

warr i , ors,mzrched

when

they

went out

to

fight

thei r

conquerors

. At 12

or 13' years

of age

the vi l lage chi l dren know

the

names

of the ol dmn

who

were i n

the l ast

ri si ng and

the

dreams they dreami n

the

' dours' or i n the vi l l ages are not

those

of mney

or of

gettingthrough thei r exam

l i ke the

chi l dren

of the

towns,

but

dreams

of

i denti f i cati on

wth some

rebel or another, the story s t i l l

today moves

them

to

tears . '

(p . 92)

Now

amgoi ng

to

turn

t o an

ent i rel y

di f f er ent

aspect

of

F

a

non i

s

m:

I

f eel that

I shoul dhel p

cl ear upmsunderstandi ngs

and

destroy del i ber at e

di stor t -

i ons

of hi s

vi ews

;

I

al so f eel

obl i gat ed

t o

present

l egi t i mat e excuses f or

hi mi n

l i ght

of thp

fact

that he di ed

prematurel y, so that many

of hi s

vi r t ual y

posthumous

i deas

are

i ncompl ete

but

I

w l l

never

adu' =

. t e hmHe hi mel f

c rystal l i zed many

of

m

preexi sti ng

doubts

about

t he

cul t

of

the

personal i ty

So

now

come

t o a

cruci al

subj ect

whi ch

I

f eel hi s i deas

(cont .

p

. 172)

8/11/2019 Soulbook, 3, Fall 1965

26/84

172f reeman

needel aborati on

and

modi f i cati on

Fanon' s

experi ence

wth

Afroameri cans

f romtheU

S

was l argel y conf i ned

t o

a

smal l segment of

Afroameri can

i ntel l ec tual s

:

that i s

theR chardWi ghts,

the Mercer

:

ooks

(who

was

reportedl y

i n a state of

vi r t ual

shock when,

at the

1956

Bl ack

Wi ters Conference,

Ai me Cesai re

t o l d hi m

that the

Bl ack

Ameri can

l i v e d

i n

a

sem-col oni al status . )

whi ch

Fanon came

i n contact

w th at the 2

I nt er -

nat i onal Bl ack

Wi ters Conferences

. Those Bl acks

are, i n the

mai n, theprotag-

oni st s of the

' i nt egrat i oni sts '

pos i t i on .

That

i s, broadl y

speaki ng, they f e l t that

l i f e' s greatest

tressure

l ay

i n gai ni ng

admssi on i n to the

' pri vel eged

c i r c l es'

of

our

whi te Ameri can

oppressors

;

and

al so

they

r ej ect

the

vi ew

( or

have never

seri ousl yconsi dered

i t )

that po l i t i c a l l y ,

economcal l y,

andhi st or i cal l y

Bl ack

Ameri ca i

s

part

of the ' Thi rd

Worl d' - - even

though i t

i s a

l arge

mnori ty geo-

graphi cal l y

i mpri soned

i ns i de the ' f i r s t

worl d '

Even

v thahi s

maj or

handi cap

Fanon

notes that they (the

Bl acks

i n North,

Cent-

tral

andLati n

Ameri ca) di spl ay

a needt o

' at t ach

themsel ves

t o

a

cul t ural _

matri x

and

i n

t h i s

sense Thei r

probl emi s not

fundamental l y di f f erent

from

that of

t he

Afri cans

.

J p

. 174) Nowt

i s

apparent

that

Fanon

was reacti ng t o

these

' whi t e-

negroes'

whenhe

percei ves the

obvi ous

that i nt er aci al

movements (whi ch

try t o

pass

themsel ves

of f

as

Bl ack

or gani zat i ons) whi ch are

tryi ng

t o el i mnate

rac i al

di scri mnati on

have

very` l i t t l e

i n

common,

i n

t hei r pri nci pl es

and

obj ect i ves,

wth

the

heroi c

f i g h t '

of

the Angol an

peopl e

agai nst

the det est abl e

Portuguese

co-

l oni al i sm

( p

. 174)

I n regards

. t

o

the

l at t er

I

bel i eve

that

Fanon

woul dhave

reacted

i n

an

ent i rel y

di f f er ent

manner

i f he

woul d

have

had

an

i nt el l ectual

rapport

wth

t he

new

nte-

l l ectual

' Soul Brother'

that i s

nowi mpri soned

i n thedomest i c

wal l s

of

e 1